Passives Entry test 1 Finish cach of the folowing sentences in such a way that itis as similar as possible to the sentence belore it 1 The car completely destroyed my motorbike My motorbike bb Second prize was awarded to an unknown author from Pata ‘Ap unknown author From Patras The judge refused him permission to appeal aguinst the decision, He 4. Blur have earned several millon pounds from their ew aloum, Blu's new abun They suggested we try a new method of checking how mich we were spending We am 2 Fil in each of the blanks with a suitable word oF phase. 1 My proposals were rejected and | was back down, think he needs dean The problem was escapes were His son i believed separatist guerilas © Under te old proposals, candidates were been given an extra 15 minutes to complete their papers told to keep his nose been told where the fire kidnapped by Fil the blanks with a sutable word or phrase 1a The video machine fs behaving strangely but we're fined rest week The lights keep flickering: we must... to look a the wiring for us. lars not the easiest person to get on with that's something you'l have... 1 [ea broken ito the other day and the ‘ado stolen Ederty people can get from house to house. in by conmen going om Finish each ofthe following sentences in such a \nay that i as simile a8 possine to the sentence before it Leaving that dkess in the sun has made @ fade. hat dress We watched the men sail the boat ito the harbour We watched the boat | dropped the glass and cracked The glass cracked | added four to the sauce and thickened it The sauce They'te seling ft of copies ofthat new single That new singleOVERVIEW 1 FORM OF THE PASSIVE We form the passive using be in an appropriate tense fr form + the past participle ofa transitive verb: A small sum of roney vas atlen fro the cash box. ‘They ought to have been punished more severe raving been Beaten i the em fia she flew home the nex day In spoken English, we sometimes use get instead of beim the passive They got told off for making so rch nose. + Howover, ga + eds more common with an active ‘meaning similar to ‘become’ in phrases like get res, get married, ete. (See Section 3.2). 2 REASONS FOR USING THE PASSIVE ‘In English, the topic or subject matter is commonly atthe beginning ofthe sentence, and new formation about the subject is normally atthe end Inan active sentence, the ‘agent’ (the person or thing, that performs the action) usually comes frst and is the subject of the sentence: Subject (Agent) Action Result Olympiakos — scored the first goal. “This active sentence is principally about Olympiakos the passive, the eesult or thing affected by the action comes first and isthe subject of the Subject (Result) Action Agent The frst goal was scored by Olympiakos. “This passive sentence is principally bout the goal We choose between active and pasive because ofthe topic we are talking about, expecially when reporting information. An English newspaper, assuming its readers ae terested inthe England football tear, ‘makes the England team the topic, Is likely to report: England have been beaten by Germany ina penalty shoo ot. A German newspaper, more interested in their own, national team, is likely to report Gormany has beaten England sn a pelty shoot-out (Other reasons for using the passive inchade: ‘© the agent is unknown or obvious (see also Section 1) [was born i 1982 Coffee wil he made availabe afer the meal the agent is people or things in general Some verbs cannot be used inthe Continous 1 the agent ia long phrase: Hein was surprsdby all the messages of sympathy that she rected. 1 avoiding references to ourselves and making & Statement impersonal ‘We con't posshy complete this work overnight. becomes: This work can’t post be completed ‘overnight (= the work is the problem, noc us) ‘voiding "you" in orders and rales You rut give im your aplication before the end of the week becomes: All applications must be given im fore the end of the week fn factual writing when the focus is usually on events, achievements, ete. rather than agent: iccnation had been pioneered two hundred 4 Notall e+ cl forms are passive. They may be adjectives: [was worried we would be late Because of theta + We avoid passive constructions with Be being oF eon being, although they sometimes occur in spoken English Avokd-Fhe rsd wil Rave bee btn repaid for month 7 Tey wil have Been repairing the road for ‘month oF: The road wil have Been under repair or months.SECTION I Agents and objects with the passive 1 THE AGENT ‘Not mentioning the agent In most passive sentences we have no interest in who ‘or what performs the action, We ate interested in the action itself, who or what is affected by the action, oF ‘what i the result off (sce Overview). In fact, only bout 20% of passive sentences mention the agent: ‘That window has been broken agin Montioning the agent We mention the agent when we think the Information i important, especially if we wane to say ‘more about it, for example with a relative lause: 1 remember Being taken to the air by my father, who tanely showed ay interest im such thing. The sursvors were picked ut of the witer by cruise liner which had heard their dss call + The agent is usually introduced with by (See Section 6.5 for prepositions after passives) 2 VERBS WITH TWO OBJECTS Verbs that have ro objects (usually a person and 2 thing) the active usually have two passive forms ‘because either of the objects can become the new subject ‘They gave the award io am unknown actress. ( active) The award was given 10 a unknown acres & pasive) ‘Am unbrnown actress was given the award passive) ‘We usually add a preposition before the personal ‘objec, The preposition is usually to, but we sometimes use for ‘A note was handed to the minister ‘A slice of cake as ext for him. However, some verbs, eg. allow, ak, cause forgive, dons, don’t normally ake a preposition befre the personal object: Permission was refused him, 3 VERBS WITH LIMITED USE IN THE PASSIVE We can't use some verbs a freely in the passive as others + We can't use intransitive verbs in the passive because they don't have an object that can be changed into the subject: A Fae hacmonton gee we oat ent thes century 1 The Tasmanian tiger did out cart this century Some verbs, eg, suggest and explain, can't change the indireer object 0 subject x We were suggeted tw time The procedure was explained to him Arne time was suggested for us. ‘+ Some verb phrases with two objects can't be passive at all ear him il will The book earned him a fortune Let me wish you luck + Some verbs are followed by two nouns, but the second is not really an object. We can sce this if it Is replaced by an adjective: ‘They declared him President He was declared President. ‘The doctor declared him dead He was declared dead. Correct the following sentences Man and wife they were pronounced. Twas explained what I had to do. «© His previous missemeanours were forgiven 10 im 4. He «és earned a lo of money from his betting © We were suggested a good restaurant for lunch,Ex © Fi each he numbered blanks in the following passage QPF cach ofthe gaps inthe following sentences with one ofthe With one suitable word ‘passive verb phrases below. ts deemed could soon be ited were charged has been held Twenty our hours after arving in ‘has finally been elected is expected being caused to be printed @ te country, | (0) id to wee taceuuar ™ leave. Te securty ple, he a High-tech “legirons’ ‘on violent suspects arrested by the Comatry lrgpet eneplopes, onset police, under plans by chief constables. {my hotel, politely asked me wat | 'b Last week, police in Scotland called for the introduction of leg- © thought of the city and then restraint fllowing concern about the numberof injuries recommended tht [ave onthe Ghring sages inthe back of pole ears and van. Imomig pane. Tased the why « Fourpeople lt night with pubic duorde offences er Twas 2h expeed and they fffiers mounted dawn rads on suspected etal hosigans sd wes ota quesin of my 4 Hugh Hefner founder of Payboy” tothe Amencon Society rng Spout, they were (of Maganine tors Hall of Fame we cometng tation ‘Ait editon copy of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tals, the first book EP esonmending Wat ee jn Englands to rae at ast 300000 when it esa me Boe snl A Beitsh woman released eaty fom an attempted murder sentence 1 stken Some sm jin the Unites States ~ a charge which she has always denied ~ ater my bey ‘disappeared’. The in poson becaite she an legal immigrant polce sage tt souls a tlecided not to interiew the tes (© td che appropriase extra information (a-c)to the passive jcetet youth wholes) sentences (1-5). been pressed up against inthe it. 1 The news was leaked to the prs by the minster Fortiree aay twat (6) BY 2 The minster was atacked by proteer, two not very secret policemen 5 Tremeniber being sents lever by a man in Ameri ceveryvbere [went I vited a 4 ‘The winning goal was scored by Fauso Ferrin Sue ieeer whos afer 3 Arman was fun over bys ca, i eee ee i etn 2 ine es appearance for the cub, 2 beaut od howe which woul wo had waked outside the building al day to voice thei ousted ne ‘opposition to the polices folowing yearby the government to Sabet ng oo i popli fring pw te 4 ho compat sy ide wa pce! pain hi coy rae wb Bk Coho winomc sl wa being ena er igh ped en woe © Where possible, rewrite cach of the following sentences in two ready but where they would live in irene way sang silent verte in Some ntnees einen hd wb imy be volcn oly one way. Uo ot se ten 1 tom pte swede vin pcre he pc a geen 8 Pelene wo he wate sags pope pd 2 ye hey th tutes Tiron wen vt oe 4 They didn't guarantee every participant a free hunch. © note, su) (12) folowed hey epee moet othe ae ihc pies te F epee our onthe wold good suet “They promised us fll compensation ithe scheme fll through, “The referee declared the boxing match a draw welll give the new members of staff all the help they need. The ieident earned him the reputation of being unreliable,SECTION 2 Infinitives and -ing form passives 11 INFINITIVES AFTER CERTAIN VERBS ‘Make, see, hear, and help have different patterns in the active and the passive, In the active, che verb is followed by object + infinitive without to. In the passive, we use a ro.infinitive ‘Active Pass Theard him shout ai He was heard to shout at is brother, is brother. ‘They've made him promise He's been made to promise nat 10 come before st Let v. alfow ‘We can't use ler in the passive when i is followed by a verb phrase, We use allow: (My parents lt me do what I wanted. (~ active) X bows fet td ina ert W/L was allowed to do shat I wanted. "+ Blut we cam use let in the passive in phrases like: The dog wus let loose. | was bey let down. 2 PASSIVE INFINITIVES We form the passive infinitive of verbs by putting to be (sometimes fo get) in front of the past participle Active _ Passive - ‘There's so much to be done. ‘Ths extay has got to be written before Friday. I's going to be done by then, [id better get a There's so auch to de. ve got to write this exay before Eda. I}T'm going to doit by then, Pid better get a + We use Perfect passive infiniives to emphasise that something is or isn't completed (See also Unit 1, Seetion 2 Watch out! ‘My mew car was to have Been delivered today but there was a problem with the paintwork ‘Active or passive infinitive? + Ifthe subject isthe agent, the sentence is active and we use an active infinitive ‘ve got so many library books to return. 1 fhe subject is not the agent, we use a passive infimiive: Al systems are to be checked as soon as posible, * We can use some active and passive infinitives with the same meaning, especially after There: ‘There are s0 many rooms to paint /to be painted ‘But, with something, anything and nothing + 0 do there can be a change in meaning ‘There's mothing to do inthe evenings. (= we've bored) I'm sorry. there's mothing to be done (= there's no action anyone can take) 3 REPORT VERBS We often use report verbs, e.g claim, mention, request, point out, with impersonal passive constructions ‘There are three main patterns: W's thought by the press that the chairman earns t00 ich. The chairman is thought by the press t0 earn too mach. There are thought to be disagreements among senior minstrs. ‘+ We often introduce a statement with They say, think, Believe, etc. oF ris said. / One knows. €16 meaning ‘People generally think, believe, et W's thought that carrots improve eyesight. (= Carrots fare believed to improve eyesight.) 4 PASSIVE -ING FORMS. ‘We use passive ing forms (being + ed) and Perfect passive ing forms (having been + ed) * after verbs that are normally followed by -ing forms (see Unit 15): ove being given flowers. She recalled having been taken there when she was young, + as participles, usually with the meaning of because” (see Unit 6, Section 0): [Being paid monthly, ind annual bill her to pay. Having been stung by bees, she has mo love of insets + as the subject ofa sentence: [Being proved wrong is never a comfortable experience. | Unaierline the passives in these sentences. 1. They are believed to have left the country 2. She is thought to have been smuggled out of the country in the back of a lorry. 3 They were seen to leave the room together. 4 He is said to be recovering well 5. The whole place was cleaned until there was not 1 speck of dust to be seen anywhere,il cach ofthe blanks with suitable word. rami New messes o combat crime are oe ‘ntoduced st the end of the year 2 We. arongly advised postion bb Heisknown money in his ora reconsider our Ihde large sums of| ‘¢ They are understood... have... fered ‘over £5000 for thei story dL alwaysmade apologise to my lide sister after an argument f Its t00 late now: there's nothing more be £ Left withthe distinct feeling of been for granted, fg Tused o steal walnuts from my grandfather's ganken and never worried about out. bh There are any survivors from yesterday's aircrash, @ Finish cach of the following sentences in such away that iis as similar as possible to the sentence before it. ‘Example: Many people believe thar Stonehenge was ‘bik as some kind of time keeping device. Stonehenge is belived by many people te have been ral a some kind of Ume-kering deve 14 They made me tel them everything I knew ' bb Nobody ever let me study the plano at school t «© Iris often said that Shakespeare never revised anything he wrote Shakespeare 48 There were once thought to be canals on Mars 1 © From what we understand, there was an attack lst night inthe Vicinity ofthe beach. “There ss FF Tes. widespread assumption that George was ‘wrongly accused George ig You have to clean chese football boots wnt they shine “These football boots are bk Under no circumstances should you cross this line “This line @ For each of the sentences, write a new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the ‘original sentence, but using the word given. Example: A lt of people ae saying that he's working. ‘undercover rumoured es rumoured that hes working deroer / He's rumoured tobe working nero. 4 She wants it to be clear to people that she's ae b He often says co people how much of his success fs down to you heard {© The theory is tha she fell overboard at night and drowned, fallen 4. We certainly don't want any repetition of such 2 ndiculous spectacle ever again. repeated €¢ The plan was originally to complete the building by June. due F When [was a child, | was never allowed to play swith the children next dooe tee @ Finish each of the following sentences in such 4a way that itis as similar as possible to the sentence before it Example: He did't remember that he had been ‘ordered to appear before the judge. He had no recollection of being ordered te appear before the judge 4 She vaguely remembers chat she was knocked own by a motorbike. . She has vague memories of bb Ics never very nice when people laugh at you. Being (Stewart was ertcised for his extravagance and ‘was more careful ater that Having 44 Treally wish I hadn't been pushed into giving 2 speech. [really regret © Because Las told it was quicker, | naturally took the mountain road, Having £ Lean tell you what i feels ike because nobody's ever given me £100,000 NeverSECTION 3 Structures with get and have 4 causaTives We cam use get and have in both active and passive patterns ‘The active pattern, meaning ‘eause or order someone to do something’, get + person + to infiniive, or heve + person + infinitive without to: IL get the waiter to bring you the mer. Ihave the waiter Bring you the men [Note that have is much more common in ‘American English; get is common in spoken British English + The passive pattern, meaning ‘arrange for somebody else to do something is get have + object + past participle PU have get the menu brought to you. had to get/ have my jacket leaned afer the party ‘mst go and get ‘have my photo taken for my new possport. TI get /have shove copies made for you immediatly. ‘She's getting /having her teth foe 2 GET + -ED: ACTIVE AND PASSIVE ‘We can sometimes use get instead of be in the passive, This is usually informal ‘They gor pnished by the Principal for making 50 such note “Lucky Paul got promoted /eleted/chosen / appointed ‘yatenday. Poor Vast his dog got rum over lastnight. + Get meaning "become" is also common with a particular small group of past parciiples: get dressed get marred get used to get stuck ‘get lost get caught get burned get involved “The meaning of these phrases ean be active I got dressed as quickly as | could + We can use some ofthese ative phrases with an object have to get the chiltren dress cart every morning. Dow't get your family involved inthe busines. 3 THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO YOU We use have + object + past participle to deseribe things that happen to us, often misfortunes, The subject the person who expertences what happened Tse had my a stolen.) He's had his application for ctzenship turned down. (Compare: His application for citizenship has been turned down.) My mother's had her later published in The Ties. (Compare: My mathe’ letter has been published ix “The Times) ‘+ In spoken English we can sometimes use get instead of haw ‘She's got another later published in The Times. + Note that sometimes only the context wil identify precise meaning. Consider: "They had thet fence pulled down, (= either: they employed somebody to pul t down (causative): oF 4 was pulled down without thei planning it, ¢ by vandals) olen. (Compare: My car was Which ofthese sentences are causative? 1 He tried to escape bt got caught. 2 They were aiming to walk the entire route but got ied inthe end p 3. need to get my haircut. 4m going to have my portzat painted ad my car broken ino last week.@ Bit! cach of the numbered blanks in the passage ‘below witha form of have or be. ic was last May, while we were aking our aia late spring beak on Lindos that we (1) our howse ‘broken into All our TV and video equipment (2 stolen, bue what was worse Was when we Aiscoveed thatthe final drat of my husband’ atest novel.) 4) tom nto pieces and the disks he G). (@) writing ton...) “appeared. OF course, you hear about people who (®) (thew properties vandalised and others whose most prized possessions (10) (11) taken, but isa terble shock when i happens to you, when you know that your home joven (12). (13) vaded, and tat you (04). () your most inimate belongings handled and examined by strangers © Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that itis as similar as possible in meaning to the sentence before it. ample: Hasn't that film been developed yet? Haven't you had the film developed yet? 4. Cane be tue that you'e realy going to deliver my sofa today? Can ic be true that Ym b One of the others agreed vo post my letters for me. Tgot My demtsis supposed to be capping my two front teeth this morning. tm 4. My car really needs servicing I really © Why did you le them go without signing the Wy dt you © Fit he Blanks with a suitable word of phrase Example: His arm iin a sling ater he got stamped on a Tkeep getting headaches so I'm going bb tes unpleasane for children when they by other children ¢ TRejust.. taken for my new passport 4. My handbag was completely fattened after it fom inthe bus. «My husband’ been to the hairdresser: really wish he 30 short £ Tknow you don't approve of my new hair colour but you'lljust tot tested © for cach of the following sentences, write a ‘ew sentence 25 similar as possble in meaning 10 the original sentence, but using the word siven. ‘The words must not be alered in any way xanple Computing ssc seething you take for framed aferawhile. get Cenputing i ust amthing yu get wed after a ue 4 The whole of my sister's as spent ast weekend redecorating her ft ha 1b We could find our way ou ofthe woods. we «¢ Bo-you think ther’ any chance of this new party ssming the election? = 4 Teane say 1 enjoy the teacher reading out my workin roar ofthe dase having es gute simple for a lcksntht copy one trove of your lays copied © Rearrange the words to make coherent sentences inside the first and last words given. ample: film t has jot be “That ve That fl just as 0 Be en. 4 your ever your house belonging ito any ad had broken of you Have stolen? fingerprints police your on you never had files hhave ean pur you nee relax € something get got have done just about this ro You office 4. your I not passport help would got have my for But stamped. us onganised get at can the everything ofall same All ‘ime, £ care any take co must such involved dangerous in family your not get You situations, arrested taxed if will gec you car be almost and ‘certainly don’ your You insured bh interest government seems to never to brought set under able rates be ‘The controlSECTION 4 Not using the passive: transitive to intransitive 4. CHANGING THE SUBJECT WITHOUT USING ‘THE PASSIVE ‘With some transitive verbs we can change the subject of a sentence without using the passive. We don't mention or even imply an agent. Verbs that allove us to change the subjece ro ‘the thing affected by the action” without using the passive are called ‘ergative’ verbs. By changing the subject of the Sentence in this way, the active transitive verb becomes intransitive: "The dog opened the door. (= active) The daor was pened by the deg. (= passive) The door opened. (ergative — a8 if the door opened by itself) *+ Here are mote examples of ergative verbs: ‘The whistle blew. That jumper does up atthe neck, ‘The carerashed into post. The Soup thickened. 2 MEANINGS OF THESE VERBS Describing change Most vesbs that we can tse in this way describe change of some kind: Transitive ___Non-passive intransitive This book will change His ie changed completely your life ‘when ke mowed to Denmark, ‘The sam had dried their clothes bythe tie they Thar clothes had dried by the time they got home. got home ‘She broke her pencil Her penil broke because because she was pressing she was pressing C20 hard tno hard + Other examples include: begin. vary decreate expand increase open close finish fade stretch crack smash We can’t use all verbs deseribing change in this way, For example, destroy and demolish must stay X Fhe-obd building demolished. 1 They demolished the old building. The old balding was demolished DeserIng moveRTe ‘Other verbs that we can use in this way describe movement of some kind: ‘Transitive He reversed the car into the garage The pilot landed the plane con only one engine He move his chair closer to here Non-passive intransitive ‘A car reversed rowrid the corner. The plane landed on tie That new restaurant has moved, Other examples include turn stop fill shake spi shift bounce Cooking Another group of verbs that we can use in this way relate to cooking: sail tip ‘Transitive [Non-passive intran Dissolve the mixture in Stir wnt the sugar a litle water has dissolved. ‘Simmer the stock for fer the stock has simmered a how, Jor am hour, ad seasoning + Other examples include: hake boil cook fry melt toast thicken burn heat up cool down warm brown freeze thaw 3 OTHER EXAMPLES OF ERGATIVE VERBS ‘She photographs very well (~ she is photogenic) Her voice records wel. (= her voice sounds good on tape) Will his sain wash out? with washing?) Your composition reads wel. (= your style is very good) Black jeans are selling wel. (= many people are baying them) “This shirt creases so easily. (= the skitt becomes creased very quickly) [? check Which of the following sentences are incorrect? 4 The light has destroyed the photograph, 'b Raise your hand if you know the answer. ‘The photograph destroyed because ofthe light. 4. The photograph was destroyed inthe fire. fe The treasure was raised to the surface. £ The hot air balloon raised quickly into the sky. Will the stain disappear© tn he following pais of sentences 3,6 oF both are correct, Put across (X) acat to every sentence that i incorrect. Write the correction, Example: a Drop a line when you get there i He war upset to decover he cropped from dhe team. (8 had ben was rrr) 1 The Thani was snk by an febong 1 The bour snk withow trace 2 This shir dries entemely quickly & Her hair soon died by the wind 3 The hole soon filed with water 3 The room was filled with hundreds of people 4 The westem shore washed by warm curents. 3 Feri soi wathes down into the valley: 5 My dress ripped when i caught inthe car door b His newspaper had been ripped inc shreds 6 The sacked workers compensated forthe loss of earings by He ws compensated for his injnies 7 My chirped backovards unt tll ove, B All he leftovers were ped intoa bin liner. 4 Inflation was creased ane the last st months b My salary was increased by just over 5% 9 2 They've expanded production faites a the ol cory by Mecal is expanded when heated 10 a The white Mercedes turmed ino the carpark 1 The sign had been tuned to face the opposite dicetion, © rewrite cach ofthe following sentences changing the object to subject without using the passive Add any prepositional phrases necessary Eximple The sim has med the chocolate The che hes ted the sa 2 The Dj dimmed the igh ducing the last ance B Darren improved his perormant: in the 100 Ines by teh of second «tebe sank the Tac 191 4 Tease his cys The Commitee gradually developed the plan ‘new sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the original sentence, but using the word given. ‘Beample: The frst act of your play is very well writen, reads The fist act of your play reads very wel 4 Inivally, I think you develop the plot very convincingly tanfolds bb You step up the tension in the third scene. But then everything seems different. change 4. You put in melodrama instead of real drama, don't your replaces Why do you close the frst act with only 2 vague suspicion of murder in the air? does £ Why don't you open the second act with the acroal killing? doesn’t 1g And why does the thd act end on such an anti climax? do by It's dificult to see tickets being bought fora play like this, selling © sat cach the gaps in these extract from report with am appropriate word from the list fame: The arnt we can spend on technica cipment has fortunately ieeased pow expand fallen contract widoxot imensfed fled changed ded (incensed) 4 ts ad tha the namber of dens considering career inteachinghat of lot ' Consequemt the teacher traning facly has by about 3% «¢Atirades toward the teaching profession have considerably 44 However i other departments options have greatly ¢incvitably some departments have completly f Interest in Latin, for example, has. up. 1g And competition wich other colleges has, must, be admied, Bot the corticola has such ay media stodics i eres in commpoter sods has expectations beyond all